Hip Coyote wrote:
I love the place. And when I get home will post some thoughts that might help you…if you want.
I’d live there if I didn’t have ties here. Cape Town! Wow.
As promised, here is my prior post:
https://www.uglyhedgehog.com/t-716145-1.htmlLet me add to that post: We flew from LA to Atlanta, hung out, went to Coke factory, visited the Olympic park and then went to JoBurg a few days later.
We flew economy plus via Delta...gave us a bit more leg room. But, I can say we flew to Europe a year later on business class and it made the tip much more enjoyable, reduced jet lag, etc. If you can afford it, do it. You wont regret it on a very long flight. Had a friend who flew to Africa on business on Air Emerates and really liked it.
I was wrong in my OP above where I said I never used flash. I did once in a small camp when taking pics of bush babies...I went back and looked at my files and found I was wrong...but for the most part, you can't use flash on animals.
I also failed to mention that our guy who set up the tour (local here in LA) said avoid JoBurg at all costs...get in and get out. They said stay at the airport and get out. Being a contrarian, My wife looked up info about Johannesburg and we decided to stay there for a few days. That was a very very good decision. Yes, JoBurg can be a dangerous place. But it is also where Apartheid really was in full swing. Mandela lived there, there is an excellent Apartheid museum there, Liliesleaf, a farm where the Anti-Apartheid movement operated and people were arrested, etc. We had a private tour of city and it was well worth the trip. It was also instructive to our family who went along (and us to an extent) to see modern institution that only a few decades ago, were segregated. We ate in Soweto and had a good time. We stayed in a lovely B and B (surrounded by razor wire. I can try to find the name) in the very suburb where Mandela was tried and convicted.
As I said in my post linked above, there is a lot more to Africa than shooting a picture of some animal. We probably spent half our time on safari, which was perfect. That is important, but IMO, the Africans, their stories, their cultures are as interesting.
This was all pre-covid...travel circumstances in JoBurg may have changed...don't know. Our friends went to SA about 6 months ago and had a great time. As we suspected, they loved Cape Town. Covid restrictions were lessening at that point...don't know what Omicron has done to the place.
Hope this helps. PM me if you have any need for follow up info.